Frank Turner to play at Wembley (From Hampshire Chronicle)
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Frank Turner to play at Wembley
2:30pm Sunday 23rd May 2010 in News
Winchester musician Frank Turner, who is playing at Wembley Stadium with Green Day
FRANK Turner is gearing up to play in front of 75,000 people at Wembley Stadium when he supports Green Day on Saturday, June 19.
The Winchester-based guitarist and songwriter was headhunted by the multi-million selling American band for the show.
In an interview with the Chronicle, he said: “They’re aware of my work and it appears that they’ve got into it, and when they asked me to play I thought about it for a nanosecond and said ‘yes’. This is the first show that I’ve been nervous about for a long time.”
He will also perform with them in Manchester three days earlier. Either side of the Wembley gig, he is playing two shows in Germany as well.
“By the time I’ve played in Munich that’ll be about 120,000 people in four days,” he added.
The former Million Dead frontman, who grew up in Meonstoke, has just returned from touring China, Australia and New Zealand.
He said: “A couple of days ago I spent my first night in Winchester this year.
“When I come home I always cook myself a meal and have a bath, as it’s always showers when you’re on the road.”
He added that visiting Australia was a major highlight and he was also making a name for himself in China.
He said: “About 300 to 400 people came to shows in Beijing and Shanghai and they were singing along with the words. The internet really is a great invention!”
He also performed smaller shows in provincial China, which he described as “frontier country” as they have only just started hosting rock gigs.
In the next few months he is playing several festivals including Glastonbury, T in the Park, 2000 Trees and Reading and Leeds.
His closest date to home turf is the Larmer Tree Festival near Salisbury on Thursday, July 15.
However, another UK tour is planned this autumn, which might include a date at Southampton Guildhall.
“One thing is that we’ve now played the largest venue in Winchester, which is the guildhall, and there’s really nowhere else,” he said.
But wherever he goes, he takes a piece of Hampshire with him as his favourite guitar is made from the wood of a Meon Valley tree.
“I think if something happened to that guitar I’d burst out crying,” he added.
Frank Turner’s next single, Try This At Home, is being released on Monday, August 2.
He plans to let an unsigned band record its B-side, and Hampshire groups are welcome to apply. Visit www.frank-turner.com for more details.
